“Cash” was the summer time single that announced the emergence of our new Minister for Enjoyment, Lady Donli and on Enjoy Your Life, she shares her views on living out one’s best life on a casual but ornamentally styled platform that displays her talents in the most luminous of lights. There is a natural feel to the entire work that projects the message of living to please oneself with the ease of Donli’s delivery further propagating the theme.
Donli romanticizes hedonism but not in the perverted way we have come to flirt with the word but in a way that entails doing what is best for one at every point and living life to the fullness of its offering. A very visible member of Nigeria’s blooming Alté movement, she allows herself room for experimentation with sounds, and none of them are conventional (in relation to the norms of Nigeria’s music industry) with highlife being the most dominant of the elements/sounds. The power of intentional sampling is also here to be appreciated as she borrows elements from artistes who have contributed to this theme.
There is a softness to the album and this layers the album with an aesthetic richness. Lady Donli wants to enjoy the pleasures of life head out of the window of a moving car, hands flailing as it is tossed back and forth by the irrepressible wind. Breezy is a simple description of this work dedicated to epicureanism and the pursuit of happiness. There is something unintentionally but curiously sensuous about the album, maybe because there is an appeal to the primal nature of humans or maybe because of Donli’s naturalistic vibe. Donli should be commended for this refined piece of breezy magic as she manages to articulate a solid theme that simmers effortlessly with her sound. It works to impeccable perfection.
While we sing praises of the Alté movement and its experimentation, a lot of the time, it can be a little too much. They (Alté artistes) often end up experimenting with so many sounds that their voice gets lost amidst the many sounds they try to conjure, or they find themselves lost in the depths of their own thoughtfulness.
However, Lady Donli isn’t caught in that vortex as she strikes the balance between depth and keeping it almost simplistic. She explores enjoying one’s life but not to extreme depths that have listeners trying to decipher sentences as if they are Morse code. Think a modern day, English speaking Oliver de Coque. From the aesthetically pleasing cover, to a humanly relatable theme, to the assembly of sounds, Lady Donli is spot on from every angle an album can be covered.
“Zaman Lafiya” is the intro that refers to living in peace with a traditional Hausa sound underlying her message as we transition into “Suffer Suffer”. She samples Mama G’s “National Moi Moi” and it adds a sweetly nostalgic vibe to the tune as Mama G embodies everything the theme of this album alludes to. That carefree living, exuberance and wholesome experience of enjoying life’s best experiences or creating them when they are lacking. You can almost picture Patience Ozokwor making bold declarations about how she’s the only woman that knows how to enjoy her life with that mischievously wicked laugh.
“Cash” is the next song as she sings about the substance that fuels any intentions of enjoying one’s life. The groovy highlife single brings in one a susceptibility to body movement and is a standout song on the album.
On “Good Time”, the wonderfully gifted Tems joins and the duo produce something reminiscent of Salt-n-Pepa as they combine to produce this simple rnb/hip-hop tune. She experiments with these sounds but shallowly, so as not to cumber herself with a sound she isn’t comfortable with. She plays with the sound but to a very healthy degree.
“Answers” is a song about dealing with people’s views about her art and what to do with her life. On “Boomerang” she sings about how she’s not a boomerang and wont return. Presumably about how she wont return to toxic relationships. “Take Me Home” samples the kokomaster’s “Mo Gbona Feli Feli” both in lyrics and sound but just on a slower tempo than D’banj sang his. “Flava” features Somadina and Amaare and this reminds one of those Destiny Child tracks of the early 00’s where they sing about their empowerment. A soft jazz platform allows them to thank their creator for their Flava.
“Corner” features Vanjess and The Caveman and is another soft highlife tune that while obscure in terms of lyrics keeps the groovy nature of the work alive. “Never Ending” talks about a love for an interest that never ends. A short beautiful inebriating sound. Tomi Thomas joins Lady Donli on “With The Kindness” as they sing shadily about killing them with kindness if you wanna move on. A mix of highlife and funk. A brilliant and soulful collaboration that makes up for lyrical obscurity with perfection of varying sounds.
“Around” is one thing that goes off the mark as the lyrics are somewhat confusing and the overall playfulness of the song doesn’t serve its purpose. On “Confidence/Keeping It Cool” she sings about her confidence in her native Hausa on a traditionally Hausa sound with Solis helping on keeping it cool (which serves up elements of contemporary rnb). “Trouble” sees her singing about not minding the trouble around her and “Bite The Dust” is about her pulling moves to avoid regrets.
This body of work deserves immense praise as chooses her theme well (you can see it is something that resonates with her deeply) and sticks with it through most of the album. Creating a holistic theme while allowing herself to explore sounds ranging from highlife to RnB and still not deviating from the thematic template she set for herself. Her direction blends in perfect unison with her soft/tender sound while not cumbering us listeners with multiple facets to a single project. Linear in direction, experimental in sound while not overly burdensome in her exploration of these sounds. This work will be lauded and rightly so as she exerts mastery of her artistry and the nuances of her sound while not limiting her sense of wonder. Impressive on every side.
Listen to Lady Donli Enjoy Your Life: